It has been three years since a consortium of 27 partners launched a Horizon 2020 project titled “URBAN-WASTE”. The project brought together key stakeholders along the waste prevention and management, as well as the tourism value chain in order to develop eco-innovative and gender strategies in cities with high levels of tourism in order to reduce the urban waste production and improve municipal waste management.

11 pilot cities and regions, spanning across Europe – from Nicosia in the east to Ponta Delgada in the middle of the Atlantic ocean and from Copenhagen in the north to Tenerife in the sub-tropical south, boarded this 3-years long journey redefining their tourism and waste management value chains, practices, approaches and principles in general. Thanks to a number of universities, NGOs and consultants who provided valuable input and skills, the pilots had the opportunity to assess their urban metabolism performances and look into improving certain processes in order to achieve more sustainable tourism locally.

Three specific objectives of the project that were common for all the 11 cities and regions and that brought together a large number of local stakeholders, experts, tourists, decision makers and more were developing integrated eco-innovative strategies for municipal waste policies, fostering and structuring a stakeholder inclusive framework for policy-making in waste management and addressing gender in waste prevention and management.

Three years later, these 11 cities and regions, together with their local stakeholders and the rest of the consortium are now proud to be able to present the wider public, European institutions and organisations, local and regional authorities the outcomes, facts and findings and most importantly – the way forward that has been paved by the URBAN-WASTE project.

The Conference took place in Brussels, at Theatre Balsamine, Avenue Felix Marchal 1 in Schaerbeek, only few streets away from the European quarter founded by Martine Wijckaert in 1974. Originally a part of a set of barracks surrounding Dailly square dating back to the 19th century which became abandoned at one point, the building was reclaimed and turned into an impressive setting which started hosting theatre plays, conferences and other events from 1981.

AGENDA

A rich and inspiring agenda is foreseen for 7 May, adapted to an audience as wide as possible and we are inviting you to discover it below.

08.30 – 09.00 | Registrations

SESSION 1: Keynote speeches

09.00 – 09.15 | Opening of the Final Conference and a welcome note from the Brussels Capital region; Fadila Laanan, Minister, Brussels Capital Region

09.15 – 09.25 | Introduction to the project, background and objectives; Michelle Perello, Consulta Europa

09.25 – 09.40 | Why did 11 European cities and regions decide to tackle waste management in tourism?; Silvia Bertran, Communication Advisor, Government of the Canary Islands

09.40 – 10.05 | Roles, opportunities and responsibilities of cities and regions in the transition towards circular economy; Françoise Bonnet, Secretary General, ACR+ 

*Coffee break

SESSION 2: Key approaches, findings and deliverables

10.35 – 10.55 | Waste management in tourism: why does it even matter?, Gudrun Obersteiner, BOKU University

10.55 – 11.10 | Situational analysis of consumption and waste behaviours and patterns in tourism; Erik Louw, TU Delft

11.10 – 11.30 | It takes two to tango: why and how addressing gender is important for waste management; Susan Buckingham, gender auditor

11.30 – 11.45 | Sustainable tourism as a joint venture: cooperation between authorities and local stakeholders; Javier Lopez, Consulta Europa

11.45 – 12.00 | Innovating Cities Policy R&I Agenda; Marie Yeroyanni, European Commission, DG Research and Innovation

12.00 – 12.15 | Questions and Answers

*Lunch break

SESSION 3: Thematic panel discussions

14.00 – 14.40 | IT solutions in waste management for a more sustainable tourism
facilitated by Milosz Momot, deputy Head of Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries Unit at DG GROW

– Celia Gilsanz Gomez, Municipality of Santander
– Alejandro Molowny, Cabildo de Tenerife
– Mattias Eriksson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
– Rafael Perez Jimenez, University of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria
– Enrique Talg, Hotel Tigaiga, Puerto de la Cruz

14.45 – 15.25 | Waste at seas
facilitated by Sotiris Raptis, Senior Policy Advisor for Environment and Safety, European Sea Ports Organisation

– Susanne Lindeneg, City of Copenhagen
– Iva Pozniak, Dubrovnik – Neretva county
– Fotios Tsagkas, DIAAMATH – East Macedonia and Thrace Waste Management Company
– Annette Berg Neergaard, Copenhagen Malmö Port
– Tom Boardley, Cruise Lines International Association Europe

*Coffee break

16.00 – 16.40 | Food waste in tourism – tools for its prevention
facilitated by: Ben Caspar, policy officer, Environmental Knowledge, Eco-Innovation and SMEs, DG ENV

– Yoann Billon, Metropole Nice – Cote d’Azur
– Maria Thiseos, Municipality of Nicosia
– Barbara Sarnari, Ambiente Italia on behalf of Municipality of Syracuse
– Lorella Lentucci, Tuscany region
– Claudio Delli, WTB Hotels

16:45 – 17:25 | Hospitality sector’s contribution to sustainable tourism
facilitated by: Olle Jonang, Vastra Gotaland and NECSTouR Executive Committee member

– Rute Carvalho, Municipality of Lisbon
– Gisela Maria Costa Nascimento, Fundo Regional Para a Ciência e Tecnologia
– Ana Cristina Chaves, Hotel 3K Lisbon
– Christian de Barrin, HOTREC, European Association of HORECA establishments

17:30 – 17:45 | Closing remarks; Lorenzo Bono, Ambiente Italia

Workshops and ateliers throughout the day

A set of workshops and ateliers will be taking place during the Conference’s coffee and lunch breaks. The participants are more than welcome to visit some of the stands and the accompanying exhibition set up in order to celebrate the 11 URBAN-WASTE pilot cities and regions and their efforts made during the project’s lifetime. Some of the workshops include:

Kmille: upcycling ideas for travel accessories

Camille is a young designer and DIY enthusiast who tries to give different material a second life – usually different from what those materials were originally made for. Her work is inspired by the overconsumption patters these days. This is how aluminium cans turn into jewellery, old t-shirts into stylish necklaces and for the occasion of the URBAN-WASTE Final Conference, she will be making few travel accessories, too: travel diaries out of old cardboard, paper and other material and wallets out of packaging material. See her other creations here.

DaddyCookiz: musical journey of wasted objects

Daddy Cookiz is a multimedia artist from Liege, already a proven reggae band member and a solo artist, as well. But his musical portfolio and repertoire don’t end with large festivals and blasting sound systems. Nearly whatever he touches starts making music and so does waste and much more. As a social worker, he knows to spend days with kids, youngsters and other social groups providing various workshops. For the Conference, he is coming with keys that have nothing to open anymore and screw keys, vegetables and his DIY music equipment. The result – we will let you discover it at the end of the Conference. You can see here what he does when he doesn’t organise workshops.

WasteApp: a gamification mobile app to make your holidays a bit more exciting

The URBAN-WASTE’s very own mobile app, currently deployed in the 11 pilot cities and regions was developed within the project’s framework. It can enhance your holidays and visits to the 11 pilots by adding a gamification feature to it. Be environmentally responsible and win awards. A simple demonstration stand will be set up during the Conference for you to see what it is exactly about! Until then, read more about it here.

Food waste tracker: a handy helper in your kitchen for optimising your portions

Another ap developed by the project partners and tested in numerous restaurants and hotels – while it will also have its 5 minutes of glory during the panel discussions, it will also have a dedicated spot atthe Conference, during the breaks where the participants can see what it can do.

Evening programme

18.30 – 19.30 | HONDAR 2050 screening and discussion with the main protagonist Carlos Arrola

HONDAR 2050 is a triple action project. The first action is the creation of a documentary about the marine waste problem on the coast of Euskadi, by Cesare Maglioni. Thanks to this documentary we see what people don´t want to see, through the eyes of the artist Carlos Arrola and his search for answers. Secondly, along the narrated story, Carlos creates a number of art works with the wastes found in the sea or on the coast. It costs us to become aware of the problem but through these criticising works, our environmental print becomes visible. These works will be displayed in an exposition in the Cristina Enea Foundation in Donostia. The last action is based on a forum debate and citizen exchange of ideas about the marine waste problem. This encounter took place the day of the documentary´s premier in the AQUARIUM of Donostia

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